Emerald Pointe Triathlon (Page 3)

Yes, I did and he has responded.  He apologizes and agrees I deserve my shirt.  (yeah!)   He says he will check with their T-shirt source to see when and how long it will take to get a reorder.  He will be in touch as soon as he knows the time frame for me to receive my SMALL shirt.

I am just waiting now.  I hope there is good news in my future.  I also hope they crack down on the whole t-shirt distribution process.  This really doesn't have to happen.

Thanks for the sympathy, support and advice.

In defense of GA Multi sport....

My sister has severe bee allergies.  During the ride, she got stung.  A volunteer radioed for an ambulance.  The race director came over in a van and sat with my sister until assistance arrived.  She checked out fine (no shots necessary).  The race director let her get back on her bike and she finished the race.  They even found her along the course and checked up on her during the run and after the race.

I thought their treatment of my sister was outstanding and reassuring.  This is the third race I've done with them.  GA Multisport runs a great race.  I'd rather have medical assistance when/if I need it than a t-shirt that fits.

Dramatic much?

;-) Just teasing!  GA Multisport is a class operation and Jim will take care of you.  How about a race report???

I am sure they will get you the shirt size you ordered. I don't care much about the shirts and such - I just want to have a strong race and enjoy it.

I think GA Multisports was a little less than honest in some of their descriptions of the race.  First, the spillover lot was said to me "as much as 1/2 to 3/4 mile from the transition area." The spillover lot was right at the 12 mile mark of a 13 mile bike ride. That is a full mile. No problem for the participants, but a little bit long for very young "fans" (our children) to walk.

Also, "only one small hill" on the bike course?  Maybe that is accurate and they failed to mention the other 5 moderate hills?  "Flat Terrain" on the run?  Not exactly.  It was pretty much up and down the entire course.

I enjoyed the race, but why can't race directors just be honest about the course?

Also, is there a way to find out what violations penalties were assessed against?

Hope everyone had as much fun as I did.  The no ipod wasn't as bad as I thought it would be - still greatly prefer it on the run, but can chug a 5k without it!

Woooah nelly, Jim Rainey is one of the most honest people I  know.  You would be hard pressed to find a nicer, understanding and qualified race director in the southeast (althought the folks at TriBlueSky are similarly competent).

As I recall, there is an overflow lot that is relatively close to the transition area. The description of 1/2-3/4 mi fits my recollection.  Is it possible that you were directed to another lot?

As far as the bike course, outside of that one hill after the right hand turn I cannot think of another that should cause umbrage.  For the run, there are some "flat, fast sections" ... there are also some hills - but nothing compared to other popular races such as Tugaloo.

Jim has no need to "sugar coat" the race terrain as (1) it is what it is and cannot be changed, and (2) the race sells out each and every year.

After the conclusion of the race, the results are posted.  Next to the results will be a listing of the penalties, including time assesed and violation.  The USAT officials should also be within eyesight of these results and ready to discuss them.

If you missed that then you can e-mail Jim Rainey and he will relay the information to you.  This will also give you an opportunity to give him feedback on the race.  He is a very responsive person and I am sure he would appreciate constructive input.

Lastly, be careful how you charactorize folks.  As you may have learned already, this is a pretty small community.  No harm, no foul ... especially since it is difficult to ascertain tone and inflection with typed words.

ETA: fixes to HTML

I've volunteered at t-shirt distribution for Ga Multisports before (irongirl) and while the distribution process was not perfect, I noticed that the main problem seemed to be that the racers "shopped" the sizes rather than picking up what they registered for. 

No offense, but I felt sorrier for the 3XL ladies who asked or emailed specially for that size at registration only to find them gone and then they couldn't fit into any of the other tees.  At least you can/could sleep in your shirt.

 Doug and I were wondering about the "flat" description also.  On the parking lot description, however, we found a trail up to the spillover lot and maybe that is where the 1/2 mile came from because that cut off a LOT of distance on the walk back to the car.  I was counting every step because I had our youngest on my shoulders. ; )

I would have carried the kid, but I didn't want risk an injury. 

fixed that for you, Doug...

I think "hills" is all relative.  I didn't really think there was anything more than a bump...maybe one hill on New Bethany.  But honestly, compared to three gap, there wasn't a hill on the course.

You really can't please everyone can you.  I had a freaking blast and posted a PR.  You guys cannot expect everything in life to be fair and as described.  Did you have fun?  Did you get a good Sunday morning workout?  It could ALWAYS be worse.  Have a good off season guys and be good.  

No need to throw a hissy, I was just pointing out that the course description was not entirely accurate. I never called into question the integrity of any individual. My point is, since there were so many first timers in this race, it might have been nice to alert them that there were SEVERAL hills along the bike ride and that the run was rolling. I even joked to the volunteer on the race course that was yelling "to your right and up the hill."  I said "hill? I thought the brochure said it was flat?!?"  She laughed and said "the brochure lied!"

A flat course would be the silver comet trail.  If you need to downshift to lowest gear, that usually indicates that you are not on flat terrain. I'm not claiming that the course was similar to the Brasstown Bald Buster, just that too many races claim their courses are "flat." There is an old joke amongst runners that "flst" stands for "fairly level at times."

As far as the lot, I have no idea as I don't regularly visit LLI. It would have been nice to find that shortcut!  When entering the park, the police were directing everyone into the lot at the 12 mile marker. I understand that the near lot filled right at 6:00 am. I will at least know for next time!

I did have an enjoyable experience and a good workout, but people need to be able to take criticism as well. Instead of getting all defensive, why not just say "yeah, they might want to correct that to make the race even better next year?!"

Hey Eric...Since your post count is fairly low, I'm assuming you're relatively new to BT (though maybe you've been "lurking" for a while).  Regardless, welcome.

You bring up a lot of great points and some are more valid than others.  One person's flat course, might be another person's "hills from Hell" course - it's all relative to where a given ind. is at a given point in time.  Last year, I thought the run course for Indian Springs was brutal (29 minutes and change), but a buddy of mine PR'ed that race a few years ago with a sub-20 5K  This said, you know yourself and you know what's hilly, what's not, etc. 

With this in mind, forget about what a given race brochure says (or doesn't say).  All of the criticism in the world may not make a bit of difference to a race director (though we all hope that constructive criticism will be taken in the same vein and acted upon).

For sake of future races, you might want to completely ignore a given race brochure's "glowing" overview and use the route mapping tool on BT or a site like MapMyRide (or Run) and plot out a given course ahead of time so you can get an idea of turns, elevation changes, etc. and plan accordingly.  Better yet, if feasible, a recon ride (or two) of the bike course (and run course) will allow you to get a first-hand feel for the reality you'll face on race day.  I did two recon rides of the EP bike course and one of the run course before last year's race and it helped immensely.

Additionally, for a popular race like EP, read through old race reports to get some first-hand insights about all aspects of the race.

There are lots of "tools" out there that can allow you to, more or less, take complete control and research and plan accordingly for a given race rather than rely upon the RD's description to set your expectations.

Good luck in your future races and welcome again to BT.

Thanks Lou for some good suggestions.  I'm new to the sport, so since it is my first year, times aren't but so important to me yet. I am sure next year, when I repeat some races, I will be looking to improve on this year's times.

I love the traning log feature on BT - it's very self-motivating.  The race reports are also very interesting and helpful as you suggest.

Hope to see you at a future race.

I second the notion that "hilly" is a relative term.  I train in Middle Georgia, which is flat as a pancake, so I was expecting the hills to appear (to me) bigger than what that description would indicate.  I thought the hills were pretty big, but because I was expecting to be overwhelmed by them, so I did pretty well.

I apologize that this probably adds nothing to the discussion.  I had a great time, look forward to seeing everyone out there next year. 

  You can trust me on this one.  If half the people that have told me they are going to do this race next year actually do it, we will have a great time.